Rebirth of a Legend
by Faeries and Vampyres
Summary: In which Harri dies, is okay with it, but is sent back to fix things. Except this time, she's working as her dad's younger sister. Marauder's era, except for the first chapter and about half the second one. ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE- SEE PROFILE
1. Chapter 1

Harri growled, avada kedavra green eyes narrowing at the smirking figure before her.

"Any last words, Potter?" Voldemort taunted.

"Yeah. I already told you to burn in hell," and with that, she yanked the dagger from her side and stabbed Voldemort right in the empty black abyss where his heart should be. Gasping, the dark lord collapsed, dead.

Harri smirked triumphantly, trying in vain to stem the blood flowing from the area right below her left ribs and looked around.

There was blood and dead bodies everywhere. If there wasn't a body, there was either blood or a burned and chunky part of one. Things were burning, a few buildings already completely collapsed, countless people crushed under the wreckage- Death Eaters and Order members alike.

Quite frankly, the remains of London were a mess.

Staggering back as she began to grow weak from blood loss, the past hour replayed through the twenty one year old's mind yet again.

~•~ Flashback starts ~•~

 _Harri cast a spell at yet another Death Eater, cutting him down; hopefully he wouldn't get back up again._

 _They- the Order and the Death Eaters- had been fighting throughout London off and on for the better part of three weeks now. This was just another battle of many._

 _Most of London had been destroyed already, and the muggles had evacuated, believing that fires were burning it down still. Making muggles believe some crappy excuse to hide magic was the only thing the Ministry of Magic was good for, really. Even then that weren't all that great at it, but dwelling on the magical peoples' failure of a government was not something that should be done right now._

 _Instead, she cursed another Death Eater, snorting as she saw one of the Order members sending a stunning spell out. This was war, not playtime._

 _Flipping the man off, Harri sent an overpowered bonebreaker curse at the stunned Death Eater's crotch before turning around and sending a fire whip at two others._

 _Quite a few buildings were already burning. Whether it was from the Order's curses or the Death Eaters', she didn't know or care._

 _People were falling left and right, a flash of green, and down went Tonks. Harri mentally added her to the list of people to grieve for as soon as she got the chance, and sent a matching flash of green at the Death Eater who downed her friend._

 _A well placed cutting curse from Moody ensured that three Death Eaters who had been standing in a line would never see another day._

 _This went on for about twenty more minutes before Voldemort finally joined the fray. Even more people were dying now, the Death Eaters becoming more vicious with their attacks now that their lord was there, and the Order members matching them, curse for curse, not wanting to lose any more than they already had._

 _It was a veritable bloodbath._

 _After a while, Harri and Voldemort were fighting one another and the battle around them got, if possible, even more brutal._

 _After about thirteen or so minutes, there was barely anyone from either side alive._

" _Oh look, Potter. All of your precious friends are dead," Voldemort sneered, ignoring the fact that so we're all his Death Eaters._

" _Burn in hell," was Harri's only reply, putting more concentration into their duel._

 _Voldemort cackled, and a gesture from him knocked Harri's wand from her hand. She simply kept on fighting, utilizing the wandless magic she had grown skilled at since she graduated Hogwarts._

 _It got to the point where they were standing in place, glaring, both wandless and exhausted._

 _Suddenly, Voldemort was moving and before Harri could block whatever he was doing, there was a dagger in her stomach and she was stumbling back a bit. Voldemort was cackling before it died to a simple smirk, everything was going in and out of focus, she could barely see, it was painful…_

 _No. She would not show any weakness. Harri's expression closed off, she straightened up, ignoring the pain as best she could, surreptitiously casting a wandless sobering charm at herself._

 _It was meant for use when one was drunk, but it worked well enough that she could concentrate on what was happening around her easier._

~•~ Flashback ends ~•~

Falling forward, she caught herself with one hand as the other moved to cover her wound again- when had she moved it?

Harri struggled to breath, and the arm propping her up shook, and she rolled onto her back, lifting her hand from her wound and moving it into her line of sight.

Blood. It was covered in blood. So much of it… all around her, covering her, splattered on buildings… it was everywhere, and blood was what this whole battle was about.

Staring now at the thick red liquid slowly dripping down her arm, Harri honestly couldn't see why it was the type of thing to go to war over.

Why exactly was everything so fuzzy? This wasn't the first time she'd been stabbed, and it certainly wasn't the worst place she'd been stabbed in.

Looking closer at her bloody (there it was again, blood, it all boiled down to blood) hand, she noticed a silvery-clear liquid in it as well. Checking the dagger, her thoughts were confirmed.

Basilisk venom.

That'd explain it then. Sure, she had been stabbed with it before but that certainly didn't mean she was immune to it. She just had better defenses against it than anyone else.

Harri gave a bitter laugh. She hadn't truly come to a near death experience since that night in the Chamber, but now… now, there was no Fawkes to heal her. There was no Ginny to save (the feisty redhead having gone out three years ago, found dead with five Death Eaters around her just like her Prewitt uncles had been found in the first war), no basilisk with a sword sticking from the top of it's head, no shade of Tom Riddle taunting her.

There was just her, the dead bodies around her, the blood (again, there it was) everywhere, and the raging fire slowly closing in.

She had survived the first, but wouldn't survive this… funny, how the thing that came so close to killing her when she was twelve finally managed it in the end.

Sighing, Harri looked up at the sky. It was clear and blue for once, not a cloud in the sky. Ironic, really, that it was so nice out but such a horrible day.

Slowly, Harri closed her eyes and released her last breath…

...only to snap them back open, finding herself in the familiar white expanse of the place she had been when she got rid of the horcrux within her head.


	2. Chapter 2

Getting up with a sigh, Harri imagined clothes appearing in front of her and she put them on. Looking around, she found the bench she had sat on with Dumbledore seemingly so long ago, and sat down.

She hadn't been there long, only about five minutes, when she heard a voice beside her. "It's a rather boring afterlife." A tall, shadowy, cloaked figure sat next to her. Harri figured this was Death. After all, she had died, so why wouldn't she see Death at some point?

"Wait… so this is my entire afterlife? Just this?" Harri asked, dismayed. Perhaps as a teenager she had hoped for a normal, quiet life and this may have appealed to her. But now, after dealing with insanity and adrenaline at every turn, this sort of thing horrified her. So Harri was, maybe, just a little bit of an adrenaline addict… oh well.

The figure nodded. "Indeed. Again, a rather boring one. But, then again, it wasn't supposed to be like this." Harri have him a curious look and the being elaborated. "You were never meant to have an afterlife. You weren't supposed to die at all, even. You see, the Deathly Hallows chose you as their master, and my master by extension but we'll get to that later. But, you didn't wield them all at the same time like you were meant to. So now you're dead."

Harri tilted her head a little bit. "And… That's bad?" She was honestly curious as to why Death seemed aggravated that she hadn't held all the Hallows at the same time.

Death nodded. "Indeed. None of those people should have ever been resurrected. Had you had the Hallows, you would have felt the necromancers' magics as they tried to pull everyone who died in the war back."

Harri sucked in a breath. Knowing she could have stopped it had she only done one thing…. No. She couldn't feel sorry for herself. She stopped doing that at eighteen and she wouldn't start again. "How can I fix this?" She asked, a determined glint in her eyes.

Death nodded in approval at her resolve to save them. "You will be reborn again, in the past. Instead of being Harriet Lily Potter, daughter of James and Lily, you will now be Harcinthica Dorea Potter, daughter of Fleamont and Euphemia, younger sister of James."

Harri stared. Really? That was… that was just… she had no words. "Harcinthica?" Was all she could say, and all she could do to communicate her shock at the name.

Harri got the feeling that Death was amused. "You heard all that but the thing you concentrate on is that your name will be Harcinthica?"

She nodded, "Well yeah, I mean, it's a ridiculous name." Harri shook her head, "I'll just pull a Tonks and have people call me by either my last name or, if they're close to me, Harri. I won't lose my nickname."

Death snorted, then waved his hand a little dramatically. Three things appeared in it; the wand, cloak, and stone. Handing the three things to a reluctant Harri, he spoke. "You will need these things in the future, and it would just honestly be best all around if you had them."

Harri gave Death a curious look. "I wouldn't think you'd want someone to have this sort of power over you. Or, were the legends of the Hallows just legends?"

Death shook his head. "The legends were very much true, and you are right. Normally I would despise someone having this sort of power over me, but I know that you will not abuse it, so I am willing to allow you to have it."

"Alright then," Harri swung the cloak over her shoulders and slipped the ring onto her right ring finger. Inspecting them, she saw the crack in the want and the slightly dented metal in the ring and knew they were from her time. "What about the ones from the time I'm going to be reborn in? Will they still have their powers or-"

Death cut her off by tapping the ring on her hand. "No. These will absorb into you when I send you to your rebirth, and the others will just become normal. A normal wand, a completely useless stone in a quite frankly very tacky setting," Harri had to snort at that, it was true, "and a regular invisibility cloak that just happened to last for centuries and will last perhaps twenty more years. Though of course should you wish to have a conduit for the powers you will gain from the Hallows, or just wish to have them, you simply need to gain ownership of the ones in your new time and their powers will reawaken."

Harri nodded, standing up and facing the now standing Death. "Well then, do what you need to do." Death's hands were on her shoulders, then suddenly she felt as if she was falling. There was a strange feeling as the Hallows absorbed into her, and then a bright light, and Harri screwed her eyes shut.

Suddenly she was small- too small- and was being held by far too big hands, and for some gods-forsaken reason, the body she was in was crying. "Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Potter, it's a girl!"

Harri tried to stop crying but quickly discovered she had absolutely no control over her body functions. That would have to change.

As she was cleaned and swaddled in a pink blanket- which made Harri's body cry again because she was annoyed (Harri hated pink with a passion since Umbridge)- Harri felt a small pressure on her mind.

Calming down and not even noticing that she was put in her new mother's arms, Harri sought out the source of the pressure. ' _Hello, mistress. I forgot to mention that due to you taking control of the Hallows we will have a mental connection now. It's nothing invasive or anything like the horcrux was, it will be dormant at the back of your mind for the most part, even. Really it's just there for me to give you updates on something that I feel you need to know or for you to call me, though if you wish to just have a conversation I will certainly reply._ '

Harri giggled a bit, just noticing her fa- brother, now, was making weird faces at her. She tried to reach out and poke him or something but couldn't control her movement. Though, huffing, she did notice that she was still in pink. ' _Alright, Death, thank you for the information. And please, don't call me mistress. Just Harri will do._ ' She felt a bit of acceptance from Death's side of the bond before it seemed to fade slightly.

Harri, kind of ignoring her family for now, concentrated on her magic, and willed it to the surface, noticing that she still had all her magic from her past life and the tiny bit of magic a baby has. That was interesting- would her magic continue to develop like a normal person's as she grew in this life? If it did, then she'd be twice as powerful as she already was by her seventeenth birthday. That would be insane, but very useful.

Anyway, back to what she was doing, Harri made the blanket around her green, then giggled again- why was she giggling? She never had before- and closed her eyes, accepting the comfort of a mother again.

The first week was difficult, as she couldn't do anything or go anywhere. Her parents were sending her awed glances every now and then, still a little amazed by the fact that she, an apparently newborn baby, managed to use her magic. And Harri came to the conclusion that breastfeeding was very embarrassing for her adult mind.

The Sunday after her birth- about six days- Harri was awoken to it being ridiculously cold.

It was night. She could see the stars. This was wrong, the only window in her room was too far from her crib to look out of it. Harri looked around herself, noting she was in an alley, and there were some drunken stumbles and slurred curses from behind her head that faded as someone obviously walked away.

' _Death?'_ She activated the connection, knowing he probably knew what was going on. ' _What the hell just happened to me?'_

' _This happened in the original timeline too. You see, the real Harcinthica was a Tentoria, a child born without a soul. They very rarely live to their second month and are usually very quiet babies. Of course, they can't do anything. They have no soul. This is why you were reincarnated as Harcinthica, because I could easily put a soul into the body. Anyways, Harcinthica had been kidnapped by a drunk Domincus Nott, who, in a few hours, will stumble over the side of a bridge and fall into the Thames river and die. Harcinthica died in the alley, but the most that will happen to you is you will get sick_.' Death explained, even his mental voice showing how amused he was at the way Nott died.

Harri sighed and tried to curl up at least, but she still had very little control over her body. ' _Can you take me back to Potter Manor?_ ' She asked, shivering slightly and using her magic to wrap around her and keep her warm.

 _'I can, but I figured that perhaps this is best. This way, when the Potters do find you again, your attitude and skills won't be questioned and will just be chalked down to how you grew up. So you don't have to hide some aspect of your personality or your abilities to make yourself match the childhood they would have given you._ '

Harri gave the equivalent of a mental nod. It made sense. She was a veteran and her attitude matched that of one. There would be unneeded questions if she had that sort of personality with the probably spoiled childhood she would have lived through otherwise. ' _Alright. Is there an orphanage or something around here?'_

' _Yes. A few of the matrons happen to take walks in the morning so you will be found in a few hours at most_.' Death replied before his presence faded from her mind.

Assured that she wouldn't be left helpless in the alley for days, Harri closed her eyes and fell into a fitful sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

A little under thirteen years later, Harri was in her room at the orphanage she had found herself in when she had woken after the alley incident. She was currently reading a book, absently petting the large snake next to her.

Said snake was coiled up, it's head on her shoulder where Harri was petting it, and also reading the book.

How was a snake reading, you might ask. Well, this wasn't an ordinary snake. In fact, this snake was actually Death, having chosen to stay as an animal near Harri. Thus, a snake, because they could communicate.

Even after losing the horcrux, Harri could still speak Parseltongue, because it wasn't a language you could really forget after using. And, also because of that little fact, she could still speak said language.

The almost thirteen year old put the book down after hearing a call from the matron and left the room, her snake coiling around her midsection, then coming up to rest around her shoulders, and putting it's head in the same spot as earlier.

"Yes, Ms Fandoff?" Harri asked, coming to a stop in front of the newer matron who had called her name.

"Harri, we have a family here that has the same name as you. Apparently the headmaster of some school was going through some records and found that you hadn't attended, or even got an acceptance letter, two years ago when the school started and was curious as to why. As you had the same last name as some family he knows, he had them come to talk to you, according to this family at least." Ms Fandoff said, leading Harri to the main office where the head matron was probably talking to them. Emma Fandoff was a bit of a gossip, but she meant well, and usually didn't realize she was rambling every now and then, which made it ridiculously easy to get information from her.

Harri nodded as they came to a stop in front of the door. "Thank you, Ms Fandoff," she said politely, grinning at the smile the young woman gave her favorite charge. Harri traded a glance with Azrael, as she had named her snake (Harri wasn't very creative with names, give her some slack, alright), and opened the door. The Head matron gave her a look as she left the room, leaving Harri to speak to the people left in the room alone.

Standing in front of her were three people, people she could easily recognize as Fleamont, Euphemia, and James Potter. Upon seeing her, Euphemia gasped and ran forward, pulling her into a hug.

Harri blinked and awkwardly hugged back before stepping away. "Er, I suppose you are the people I'm supposed to be talking to about a school and having the same last name?" She asked, knowing full well they were, but also knowing that she couldn't let anyone know about her past life.

The things they'd- whether that meant the Ministry, Dumbledore, or Voldemort, not even Harri knew- would do for that knowledge was enough to make her ensure that not a soul knew.

Euphemia backed up a bit as well, composing herself quickly. "Yes, yes. Sorry about that, you just look rather like our missing daughter."

Harri nodded, "Well, I mean, okay." She couldn't tell them that she _was_ their missing daughter, that would cause questions she couldn't afford at this point. "Why is she missing?" Harri asked, playing on her natural, usually somewhat morbid, curiosity to make it seem believable.

A slightly angry expression passed over Fleamont's face before it was gone, though Harri knew it wasn't directed at her. She noticed James was actually staring more at Azrael than anything, horrified at the snake who kept making faces at him (or at least as many faces as a snake can make). Harri mentally shook her head; Death had such a childish sense of humor for a being older than eternity.

"My dead sister's husband was visiting the week after our daughter was born, and he was a bit of an alcoholic, and, well, we don't know why, but he took our daughter. We only found out three or four hours after she was taken, from what the fading magical signatures in the room told us." He explained.

"Magic?" Harri asked, filing the explanation away for later. "And I'm sorry about your daughter."

Fleamont nodded, but before he could speak again, James spoke up. "Why is your snake constantly sticking his tongue out at me?"

Harri glanced down at Azrael to see that he was, in fact, sticking his tongue out. Fleamont and Euphemia glanced at the large python wrapped around her (why the orphanage had let her keep it Harri would never understand), and blinked (she also wouldn't understand how they hadn't noticed it before then).

Shaking her head in resigned amusement, she gave James a sort of what-can-you-do type of look. "He does that, just ignore him. He's got a pretty childish sense of humor."

The snake gave her a betrayed look- or at least a look that was as betrayed as a snake could get- before resting his head on her shoulder with a snakey huff.

James gave her an incredulous look, making Harri smirk at the soon-to-be fifth year. "A childish sense of humor? Snakes can have a sense of humor?"

Harri shrugged, being careful not to dislodge or move Azrael. "Well, I don't know about most of them, most I've met usually tried to kill me except that one… but we didn't speak long enough for me to know what sort of sense of humor he had. I do know that Azrael here does, though."

She mentally snorted at their shocked looks- though she wasn't sure if it was from the admission that some snakes tried to kill her (and her complete unconcern at that fact) or the fact that she could communicate with them. "You're a Parselmouth?" Euphemia asked, not scared as Harri would have thought but just curious.

"Parselmouth?" Harri asked, feigning confusion. "What's that?"

"It's someone who can speak Parseltongue, the language of the snakes." Fleamont explained. "Anyway, do you want to come with us? We can explain about magic and the new school you'll be attending- if you agree to go, that is."

"A magic school?" Harri asked, adding enough incredulity in her voice to make them believe that she would never pass up the opportunity. "I would go to this school just from that description alone. It's magic." She said it like it explained everything, which, for most people, it did.


	4. Chapter 4

Harri sighed as the Potters began the long and tedious procedure of adopting her officially in the muggle world. In the magical world they could just claim she was a Potter and that'd be the end of it, but the muggle world wasn't like that.

James sat next to her as Fleamont and Euphemia were signing papers. "Ugh. I hate sitting around and waiting," he complained. Harri raised an eyebrow, and James elaborated. "I like doing things. I'd prefer to be out and about, running or something at least."

Harri nodded in understanding. "Fair enough."

Azrael butted his head against James's shoulder, and the 'older' teen hesitantly reached out to pet the snake. "He… er, how long have you had him?"

Harri grinned at his awkwardness at talking about the snake. Frankly she was surprised he even pet Azrael. From what she had heard, he was very biased against all things Slytherin. "I've had him since I was about four. He just kinda appeared out in the gardens one day, it freaked everyone out, and I just picked him up and kept him."

James gave her an incredulous look. "And they let you keep him?" He asked, shaking his head. "Isn't this a poisonous type of snake?"

Harri nodded, petting Azrael's head as he put it back on her shoulder. "Yeah, and I really don't know why they let me keep him. I think they just know I have a way to control him." James gave a sort of half shrug before falling silent.

That only lasted maybe about a minute. "So… what's your full name, I guess?" He asked, then, seeing Harri's amused raised eyebrow, he shrugged. "I got nothing else. Mine is James Charlus Potter."

Harri nodded. "Well, according to the parchment that the matron found me with (which is weird in itself, I mean who uses parchment instead of paper nowadays)," no need to mention that she had conjured it up so she could 'grow up' using her real name, "My first name is Harcinthica, apparently." She pretended to not notice Fleamont and Euphemia stiffen and glance back before going back to the paperwork they had to do. "Not sure what kind of name that is, but there we go. I prefer to be called Harri, most times."

James tilted his head. "Most times?" He echoed, curious.

Harri nodded, "Yeah. I had this one friend who always called me Cinthy, and sometimes I prefer that." That wasn't actually a lie, Luna Lovegood had usually referred to Harri as Cinthy, which confused her but Harri did like the nickname, and now that her name was Harcinthica, Cinthy was a legit nickname for her.

"Well alright, Cinthy." He grinned at Harri's eye roll and stood up as Fleamont and Euphemia walked over.

"Time to go, you two. Harri, got everything?" Fleamont asked.

Harri shook her head. "Hang on, I'll be right back." She ran back to her room and grabbed what she deemed important and left anything she didn't need. All her stuff went into a backpack and she ran back to where they were. "Now I do!" She grinned, letting her childishness dictate her actions for a bit.

Fleamont and Euphemia chuckled, while James grinned. "Let's go then," Euphemia said, leading the other three out the door.

As they walked to the Leaky Cauldron, which Harri had long since noted was rather close to the orphanage- maybe three or four blocks away- Fleamont spoke to her.

"Earlier you said your full first name was Harcinthica," he began, and James and Euphemia looked over. James curious, and Euphemia hopeful. "Did the parchment you were left with say anything else about your name?"

"Well it obviously said my last name was Potter or else I wouldn't have known what said last name was." Harri offered, before she added, "But it did say my middle name was Dorea as well."

They were now outside the bookstore next to the Leaky Cauldron, and Euphemia pulled Harri into a hug again, this time Fleamont hugged her as well, pulling James into it. "Wha- what's going on?" James asked.

Their parents let go of them, and Harri stared at them. She knew, of course, why they hugged her, but she wasn't supposed to know yet, so she had to pretend to be shocked and confused. "Is it like some family tradition to hug people constantly?" She asked, more as a joke than anything really.

"You, Harri," Euphemia started, "and I am absolutely sure of this, are our biological daughter."

"What?" James asked, staring at Harri, then looking back at his parents. "Well, I can see it, actually."

Harri just blinked at them, "How would you have figured that out?" She asked, genuinely curious. She knew that she looked too much like the Potters for it to be a coincidence, but she honestly didn't think they'd figure it out for maybe a little longer. And, noting that no one seemed to watch the 'drama' playing out between them, Harri realized that the four of them had an area-effect notice-me-not charm on them.

"Well, for starters you look just like us, second, Potter is not a common name in the wizarding world- in fact the four of us are the only ones left, your full name is the exact name of our daughter, which can't be a coincidence as it's such a strange name, plus, the second you said your full name, our rings," here Euphemia gestured to the Potter family Lord and Lady rings they were wearing on their right ring fingers, "warmed up the second you said your name, telling us that you are part of the family by blood."

Harri nodded. "Alright. I don't know why I believe that but I do. So… now what?" She jumped slightly as James, who was now grinning hugely, ruffled her hair. "Hey, quit it, you," she growled playfully, batting at his hand.

"Well, I know it may take a while to come to terms with it," Fleamont said, leading them into the Leaky Cauldron, "but I suppose nothing all that different will happen. We were still going to claim you as our daughter, granted adopted, but still our daughter, but now we know you're ours by birth so we'll simply say we found you, finally."

With that, they Floo'd to Potter Manor, James taking Harri through with him as she, at this point, shouldn't actually know how to Floo.


	5. Chapter 5

Harri set down her bag on the bed in the room that would now be hers. Looking around, she shook her head, lip curling ever so slightly in distaste. Sure, she had been a Gryffindor and proud last time around, but this was too much even for her.

The walls were red, the carpet gold, the bed was both, with lions everywhere, and Harri _really_ didn't like it.

The nearly thirteen year old rolled her eyes and turned to go talk to her parents, but before she had even taken a step towards the door, Euphemia was there.

"Do you like the room? James designed it when he was told we'd be going to talk to a new student and would probably adopt them." Euphemia said, shaking her head at the room. "He loved it, though I don't think he realized you may not."

And now Harri felt kind of bad for disliking the room, but not that much. "Honestly, mum," and that would take a while to get used to but seeing the sheer happiness in Euphemia's eyes at being called that how could Harri not refer to her as such, "not really." She turned and gave it a sort of deadpan look, as if it were the room's fault she didn't like the decorations. "It's a bit, well, gaudy, is the word I'm looking for. And maybe a little posh."

Euphemia nodded, accepting the answer. Harri could tell she agreed, but would respect James' design choices, but would change them for Harri as well. It was her room now, after all. "Then what color would you have it if you designed it?" She asked, pulling out her wand. Noticing Harri's curious look, she explained what it was. "We'll get you one next week when we go shopping for your and James' school supplies."

Harri blinked and shrugged. Alright then. "Um, let's see, the carpet can stay gold, just make it a darker shade. This kind of gold is way too bright for me." Euphemia nodded and cast a spell, and Harri tilted her head a bit, studying the new shade. "Nice. And the walls can be a dark purple. Like maybe a royal purple or something," then Harri's expression brightened and she turned to her mother- again, odd, but she'd get used to it. "Can you add designs to the wall?"

She chuckled. "'Course I can, that's a spell I learned in second year for a prank my friends and I pulled." The older woman winked at her daughter, and gave her a prompting look for the design idea.

Harri blinked, "Please tell me that story sometime. Anyway, can you put lilac purple swirls along the top edges of the wall? Make sure they only go down about 127 millimeters* or so, though. It'd just look weird if there was any more than that."

Euphemia did as Harri asked, giving an approving nod at the new look. "The bed doesn't match though," she pointed out, lips twitching.

Harri looked over and wrinkled her nose. "How about we use shades similar to the purple and gold used for the rest of the room, but still a little different, and make it look like… I dunno… oh! A mainly purple and gold sunset. I love sunsets… at least I do when I actually manage to be able to see then," she frowned slightly, and Euphemia didn't speak, hoping to learn more about her. "Normally I can't get out to see it. Either that or if I do some idiot pulls me into an alley for something and then I have to beat them up and miss it."

Euphemia blinked. "Harri," it had already been established that Harri was not fond of her name and preferred her nickname, "what exactly was your childhood like?"

Harri turned to her with a searching look. It was as if her very soul was being judged and it unsettled Euphemia a little bit. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, Harri shrugged. "Well it could have been worse, I guess," and that did not help Euphemia's thoughts at all. It wasn't the best, but not terrible, exactly. I was bullied quite a bit and had to learn to defend myself, and I didn't really have friends. Sometimes I'll say there were a few people that were my friends, but they were more like acquaintances." There, that was the best way to explain away her old friendships and still be truthful. "Azrael," here she gestured to the snake still wrapped around her middle, "is really my only friend, and has been for a long time."

Euphemia nodded, absent-mindedly casting the spells needed to decorate Harri's bedcovers the way she wanted them. "I see. Well, if you want to talk about anything, just come to me or your father. We're here for you now."

Harri smiled at Euphemia, "Thank you." It wasn't a big smile, she never really had those large, innocent smiles anymore. She hadn't had those types of smiles since the end of her fourth year. Harri knew hers couldn't usually be counted as real smiles, normally they were pained and showed how broken Harri was internally.

Though Harri also knew there was a quiet strength in them, a small little thing that said "Maybe I've been broken before, but I got back up and now I won't be broken again", and it was that quiet undercurrent that made her a natural-born leader. It was that which made people listen when she spoke, because it said that she knew what she was talking about, that she lived through it.

Euphemia could see that in her expression, the pain, the broken little girl that had become hardened to the world, hidden by the child that she never truly got the chance to be. It stung the older woman to know that so much had apparently happened to her little girl, but she also knew there was nothing that really could be done about it. Harri would carry this for the rest of her life, and would be a better person for it.

Instead of voicing these thoughts out loud, Euphemia simply gave her a slightly shaky smile back, "It's no problem, I understand."

And they both knew that she did.


	6. Chapter 6

Harri watched her mother leave the room, sitting her bed as she did so. Harri could tell that Euphemia had a small clue as to the sort of things that she had experienced, it was obvious.

Perhaps one day she would find out the truth. Perhaps.

Either way, Harri had seen the recognition of the type of smile she gave, and knew that Euphemia, like Harri herself, would not pry. Sirius had once told her that it seemed to be a thing of everyone in the Potter family, whether by birth or marriage. When it came to personal things, they didn't pry.

Harri had been a little bit of an oddball in that sense when she was a teenager (having taken after her mother and her insatiable curiosity), though, later on, she began to curb that, and now she very rarely actually bothered with other people's private business. It took the fun out of life. Know your enemy and all that is good, but then if you know exactly what they'd do, where was the risk? Where was the thrill of adrenaline, knowing that anything could happen, but being ready for it at the same time?

Where was the fun in knowing exactly what your opponent would do?

Sure, it was dangerous to be unaware in such a situation, but it was also fun- to Harri at least. Her old friends never agreed with her on that, though. Harri suspected that she found it enjoyable just because she was such an adrenaline addict.

" _Something on your mind, mistress?_ " Azrael asked from his spot on the bed.

Harri stretched and stood up, tossing a 'not really' in Parseltongue to Azrael over her shoulder as she did so. She headed to her bag to begin unpacking.

As she did, the door opened and she hears a muttered 'woah'. Harri looked up to see James standing in her doorway, staring around the room in shock. "What happened to it?"

Harri glanced around and gave a half shrug. "Mum changed it for me," she glanced at James' conflicted expression. "I'm not all that much a fan of red and gold, or at least those particular shades, and certainly not together."

James gave her a blank look, "How could you not be? They're Gryffindor colors!"

Harri mentally sighed, knowing that she'd have to play the clueless thirteen year old again. "What's Gryffindor?" She asked mildly, ignoring his vaguely condescending tone as she put her clothes in the closet. She didn't have much, but it was all kept in good condition- and at least they weren't Dudley's old cast-offs.

~•~ ~•~ ~•~

James, after a few days, had gotten a little tired of talking about Hogwarts and explaining things about magic, so he ended up pulling Harri outside. "Come on, I'll teach you how to fly."

Harri visibly grew excited at this. She knew James loved flying, and she wasn't all that surprised James would try to get her to have the same opinion (even though she already did, but he didn't know that). "Flying?" Harri asked, a grin pulling on her face.

James gave her a laughing yes, and they ran out to the grounds. James led her to a shed near their Quidditch Pitch - why hadn't she known of this before - and pulled out two brooms. "Cleansweep 5, the newest broom on the market." He said by explanation, handing one to Harri.

Harri grinned, "Cool." Though she knew it wouldn't be as good Firebolt. Nothing would ever be that good, in Harri's opinion.

"Right, so, just mount the broom and push up," James explained, "I'll help you after that, and if you fall I'll catch you. But I wouldn't worry if I were you, you're a Potter and we're amazing flyers." Here he gave her a cocky grin and Harri laughed, doing as he said.

It took a bit of concentration to make it seem like it was her first time flying, but James was easily convinced. "This is fun!" Harri laughed, flying in a circle around James.

He laughed as well. "See? You're a natural!" They continued to fly for a few hours before Fleamont came outside, three teenagers with him.

"James! Your friends are here!" He called, and went back inside, leaving the teenagers there.

James gave Harri another excited grin and landed, running to them. Harri followed a little slowly, giving the three of them a hesitant smile.

She had to remember that Peter wasn't a traitor yet. He was still their friend.

"Hi guys! You'll never believe what happened earlier this week!" James exclaimed, pulling the other three to Harri and throwing an arm around her shoulders.

Harri knew this wasn't how brothers normally treated their little sister's (knowing Ginny and the Weasleys meant she knew _exactly_ how typical brothers treated younger sisters), but she supposed it was because they had only just met that he was actually trying to include her.

"Wow, you're excited," Remus observed, giving Harri a smile. "Who's this?"

"This," James said with relish, clearly enjoying the little dramatics he was pulling off, "is my little sister, Harri."

Remus's eyebrows furrowed, Peter blinked, but Sirius gasped. "I thought the youngest Potter had died."

James nodded, "Yeah, that's what the official stuff said a year after she was kidnapped."

He didn't say anything further, because Harri piped up. "Well, I'm obviously not dead, so you're sort of wrong, Mr Hair." That was a nickname Harri had given Sirius in her own time, and she just had to bring it back.

Remus and Peter gave her strange looks, James just sighed, having expected something like this, and Sirius gave a laugh. "Be prepared for stupid nicknames," he warned, "Harri had a knack for them."

"Oh dear," Remus murmured.

"Mr Hair?" Sirius echoed, still grinning.

"Yep," Harri explained brightly. "You have long hair, ergo, Mr Hair."

Sirius nodded, "Can't fault that logic. In that case though, I have no other choice than to nickname you… er, I don't really have a good nickname."

James grinned, "Madam Snake!" He exclaimed, poking Harri's cheek and causing her to bat away his hand. Of course, it was a nickname Remus and Sirius had given her last time as a joke when she had told them of the accidental magic situation that involved setting a snake loose at the zoo.

"Madam Snake?" Peter asked.

"I need an explanation for this," Remus said, sitting on the pitch. The others sat next to him, Harri sending out a small burst of magic to Azrael, knowing he had made his way out near the pitch while she was flying.

"Well, Harri here has a pet snake," James explained, "therefore, Madam Snake."

"A snake?" Sirius asked, narrowing his eyes slightly as Azrael slithered up to Harri to wrap around her shoulders. "What, are you a Slytherin or something?"

He asked this somewhat snidely, and Harri wasn't surprised to see that the others, while they didn't say it, all felt similarly. Even James.

It annoyed her a bit, but she had to remember they were teenagers, and she had been much the same as a teenager as well, so she really couldn't say anything.

"What's Slytherin?" She asked, pushing away the minor annoyance.

"Slytherin is one of the houses of Hogwarts, remember when I explained that?" James asked. "It's the evil snake house."

Harri blinked. "What do they all have plans for world domination or something?"

"Huh?" Peter asked.

She shrugged, "If it's evil, then do they all sit around and plot world domination? Why would an entire house for solely ev people exist without being closed down or something? Why let all the evil kids stay in a dorm together? That's just asking for trouble, there. If it's evil, why does it still exist?"

The four Marauders stared at her, then exchanged glances. "Well, putting it like that, you may have a point." James said slowly.

Harri scoffed, "Of course I have a point. No one, and I mean no one, would allow the continued existence of something that only creates evil people. Therefore, logic dictates that there are good Slytherins as well, and evil people from other houses."

There was a momentary silence as Harri pet Azrael, her lips twitching up in a grin as he slithered in between her and the four other distracted teens and approached Sirius's hand. He gave a small squeal as Azrael began to wrap around his arm.

"Calm down," a laughing Harri told Sirius, "he just wants some attention. Pet him and he'll leave you alone after a little while."

Sirius gave her a horrified look even as he hesitantly reached out to pet the snake, ignoring the snickering of the other Marauders. After a short few seconds, he was less scared and more interested. "What kind of snake is he?" Sirius asked as he made his way to Peter.

However, before Harri could reply, Peter squealed and backed up. "No no no! Keep him away from me! He's gonna eat me!"

Harri gave him a flat look, "Oh please, Azrael doesn't eat people. Much to chewy, he says." Here she wrinkled her nose, to the others' amusement. "Besides, he prefers rats to anything. Certainly, humans are not part of his diet."

Yes, Harri knew the sort of reaction Peter would have, considering the Marauders had supposedly finished their transformation earlier this summer, according to the Sirius from her timeline. Oh well, let it never be said that she didn't hold on to grudges for ridiculously long times.

Peter's eyes widened. "Oh Merlin he's gonna eat me!" He wailed.

Harri raised an eyebrow, ignoring Remus' facepalm or Sirius and James' snickers. "Did you not just hear me? I mean unless you've got a rat somewhere in your ancestry or something you'll be fine."

Azrael began hissing now, enjoying causing the rat fear just as much as she was. " _Hear ratty ratty rat, come here. I won't bite… maybe… but at least it'll be a quick death._ "

Harri had to bite her lip to stop from laughing. " _Alright Death, I think we've terrorized him enough._ "

Azrael pouted even as he slithered away from Peter and seemed to decide that Remus would make a good bed, so he slithered into his lap and would himself into a coil.

There was silence for a little while. "You're a Parselmouth?" Sirius asked. "How? The Potters have no connection to the Slytherin line…"

Harri shrugged. "No clue. I only found out about magic like a week ago."


End file.
